Oct. 11, 2013
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Penn State men's tennis team had a great day at the Wake Forest Invite first day. The Nittany Lions won 11 singles matches and three doubles matches. Three Nittany Lions moved onto their draw seminfinals, while three doubles pairs moved onto their draw quarterfinal. Every Penn State player won at least one singles match on Friday.
In the B Doubles draw, Alex Fennell (Bala Cynwyd, Pa.) and Christian Lutschaunig(Richboro, Pa.) paired up in the round of 16 and took care of business, winning 8-3 against UNC Greensboro's Randy Phillips and Cameron Smith. They move onto tomorrow's quarterfinal against UNC Wilmington's Zach Hublitz and Christian Van der Burgh.
Joining them in the B Doubles quarterfinal are Matt Barry (Lido Beach, N.Y.) and Roman Trkulja (Toronto, Canada). The sophomores knocked off South Carolina State's Stanislav Baco and Martin Kozba, 8-5. They will take on Iowa's Dom Patrick and Juan Estenssoro on Saturday.
Marc Collado Castells (Barcelona, Spain) and Tomas Hanzlik (Prague, Czech Republic) also advanced to their quarterfinal in the C Doubles Draw. The duo won a tough 8-7(4) battle against UNC Charlotte's Paul Cisti and Francis Pare. On Saturday, they face East Carolina's Ross Nigro and Damien Brenard.
In the A Doubles Draw, Russell Bader (Austin, Texas) and Michael Reilly (Raleigh, N.C.) dropped a tough battle, 8-6, against UNC's Nelson Vick and Stuart Depaolo. They will face N.C. State's Thomas Weigel and Ian Dempster in the Consolation Quarterfinal on Saturday.
Collado Castells, Lutschaunig and Trkulja all moved onto their draw semifinals. The Barcelona native, Collado Castells, knocked off UNC Greensboro's Cameron Smith, 6-4, 6-0 and Wake Forest's Nolan Bauer, 6-4, 1-6, 6-1. The freshman moves on to matchup against Furman's Alex Christ in the B1 Draw.
Lutschaunig, another freshman, competed in the C1 Draw. He earned wins over UNC Wilmington's Karan Salwan 7-6(2), 6-3 and Iowa's Joey White 7-6(3), 7-5. He advances to take on Furman's Juan Sheppard in the semifinal on Saturday.
In the B2 Draw, Trkulja claimed straight set victories over UNC Greensboro's Gaston Murray, 6-1, 6-0 and East Carolin's Damien Brenard 6-1, 6-1. He moves on to face UNC Wilmington's Santtu Leskinnen on Saturday.
Bader won his round of 16 match in the A1 Draw against UNC Greensboro's Ahmet Sarioglu, 6-1, 7-5. However, Bader was unable to upset the top seed in the draw quarterfinal, UNC's Esben Hess-Olsen as Bader fell 6-2, 6-3. Bader will look to rebound tomorrow against Liberty's Shea Thomas in the fifth place bracket.
Fennell also moved onto his draw quarterfinal, knocking off UNC Greensboro's Randy Phillips, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3. Fennell also drew the top seed in his draw, the A2 Draw, UNC Wilmington's Rafael Aita. Fennell took the first set 6-4, but Aita came back, winning 6-3 in each of the final two sets. Fennell takes on Stetson's Nathan Debut in the fifth place bracket.
Barry won his opening match against Duke's T.J. Pura in the round of 16 in the B1 Draw. Barry won 7-5, 4-6, 6-3. He advanced to the quarterfinal but fell against UNC's Stuart Depaolo, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. Barry will also compete in a fifth place bracket match on Saturday against Stetson's Chester Espie.
The junior, Hanzlik, fell in his first match, 6-3, 6-4, against UNC's Nelson Vick. However, Hanzlik responded with a consolation quarterfinal win against Stetson's Simon Julian, 6-4, 6-2. On Saturday, Hanzlik faces Iowa's Juan Estenssoro in the A2 Draw consolation semifinal.
Another junior, Michael Reilly, dropped his first B2 Draw match against UNC Wilmington's Zach Hublitz, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. Reilly bounced back in the consolation quarterfinal, knocking off N.C. State's Ian Dempster, 7-5, 6-3. Reilly matches up against Norfolk State's Daniel Grauel in Saturday's consolation semifinal.
Please check back to gopsusports.com throughout the weekend for coverage of the Wake Forest Invite. Fans can also follow updates on our Facebook page, Penn State Men's Tennis, and Twitter page, @pennstateMTEN.
Doubles:
A Doubles:
Round of 16) Vick/Depaolo(UNC) def. Bader/Reilly(PSU), 8-6.
B Doubles:
Round of 16) Fennell/Lutschaunig(PSU) def. Phillips/Smith(UNCG), 8-3.
Barry/Trkulja(PSU) def. Baco/Kozba(SCSU), 8-5.
C Doubles:
Round of 16) Collado Castells/Hanzlik(PSU) def. Cisti/Pare(UNCC), 8-7(4).
Singles:
A1 Draw:
Round of 16) Russell Bader(PSU) def. Ahmet Sarioglu(UNCG), 6-1, 7-5.
Quarterfinals) Esben Hess-Olsen(UNC) def. Russell Bader(PSU), 6-2, 6-3.
A2 Draw:
Round of 16) Alex Fennell(PSU) def. Randy Phillips(UNCG), 7-5, 3-6, 6-3.
Nelson Vick(UNC) def. Tomas Hanzlik(PSU), 6-3, 6-4.
Consolation Quarterfinals) Tomas Hanzlik(PSU) def. Simon Julian(Stetson), 6-4, 6-2.
Quarterfinals) Rafael Aita(UNCW) def. Alex Fennell(PSU), 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
B1 Draw:
Round of 16) Matt Barry(PSU) def. T.J. Pura(Duke), 7-5, 4-6, 6-3.
Marc Collado Castells(PSU) def. Cameron Smith(UNCG), 6-4, 6-0.
Quarterfinals) Stuart Depaolo(UNC) def. Matt Barry(PSU), 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Marc Collado Castells(PSU) def. Nolan Bauer(Wake Forest), 6-4, 1-6, 6-1.
B2 Draw:
Round of 16) Roman Trkulja(PSU) def. Gaston Murray(UNCG), 6-1, 6-0.
Zach Hublitz(UNCW) def. Michael Reilly(PSU), 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Consolation Quarterfinals) Michael Reilly(PSU) def. Ian Dempster(NCST), 7-5, 6-3.
Quarterfinals) Roman Trkulja(PSU) def. Damien Brenard(ECU), 6-1, 6-1.
C1 Draw:
Round of 16) Christian Lutschaunig(PSU) def. Karan Salwan(UNCW), 7-6(2), 6-3.
Quarterfinals) Christian Lutschaunig(PSU) def. Joey White(Iowa), 7-6(3), 7-5.